Question

in a study on the effects of stress on the brain, neuroscientists sunita kumar, ethan wilson, and others examined the brains of rats exposed to stressful situations. the researchers found that stress caused inflammation in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning. they also discovered that this inflammation reduced the rats ability to form new memories. they concluded that stress is likely to ______
which choice most logically completes the text?
choose 1 answer:
a increase an individual’s ability to learn new information.
b decrease an individual’s ability to form new memories.
c increase an individual’s ability to combat inflammation in the brain.
d decrease an individual’s hippocampal inflammation.

Explanation:

The study shows stress causes hippocampal inflammation (hippocampus is for memory/learning) and reduces rats' new memory formation. So we infer stress likely has a similar effect on individuals. Option A says stress increases learning ability, which contradicts the study. Option C claims stress increases inflammation - combating ability, but the study shows stress causes inflammation, not combating it. Option D says stress decreases hippocampal inflammation, which is opposite to the study's finding (stress causes inflammation). Option B matches the inference: stress would decrease new memory formation.

Answer:

B. decrease an individual’s ability to form new memories.